


Assembly

by Primarybufferpanel (ArwenLune)



Series: Mad Max Snippets [8]
Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 06:54:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5238674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArwenLune/pseuds/Primarybufferpanel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Maybe I should seduce him next time, to make sure he gets it."</p><p>There was a shared moment of contemplation, and then twin snorts of laughter.</p><p>"Can you imagine his <i>face?</i>"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Assembly

**Author's Note:**

  * For [schwarmerei1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/schwarmerei1/gifts).



> This story was a commission for Schwarmerei - thank you so much to contributing to my Wasteland fund!

Furiosa closed the door of her quarters behind her and barred it, sighing.  

"Hey. Are you all right?" 

She looked up to find Valkyrie on her bed. She'd been sitting against the wall, reading a book, which she put it down next to her now.

Furiosa hummed noncommittally. Made a vague gesture. 

"When's he coming back?"

Furiosa twitched a tired smile and sat down on the edge of the bed. She sighed. She'd seen Max off after he'd visited the Citadel for a few days, a pattern that had repeated so often over the two years since the revolution that she felt like there was a groove in the stone.

Val moved into the space behind her, putting her chin on Furiosa's shoulder.

"I don't know. Don't think he knows, either." 

"Hmm."

"Why do you keep leaving when he's here? You know you're..." Furiosa trailed off. "He doesn't dislike you."

"He just looks so... uneasy, when I'm around too. He gets all twitchy like he worries he's...intruding or something."

Furiosa slowly nodded. It wasn't a nice thought, but that sounded about right.

"I wanted to..." Val kissed the side of Furiosa's neck. "give you space..." she rubbed her cheek against the short hair, "to enjoy each other."

"I wonder if that's why he keeps leaving."

"Yeah?" Val tilted her head, seemed to consider it. "You think he has the same thought?" 

"I don't know... maybe?" In the beginning Max had clearly struggled to spend time in the Citadel – given what had happened to him there, that really didn't surprise anybody. But lately he'd been leaving with what she thought might be regret, and the length of his absences had decreased.  Yet he still left. 

"That would be kind of..." Val gestured vaguely, "if we're both keeping out of each other's way for no reason."

"It makes me feel a bit… like I have to make sure to divide my attention just right?" Furiosa said softly. "It's tiring."

"I thought I'd been obvious that I like it when he's here," Val mused, tugging Furiosa back to lean against her. She let her fingers trail over Furiosa's scalp, and the other woman made a little hum of content. "Maybe I should seduce him next time, to make sure he gets it."

There was a shared moment of contemplation, and then twin snorts of laughter.

"Can you imagine his  _ face _ ?"

Furiosa let herself sink against Val, pulling her legs up onto the bed. They were silent for a while, quiet and comfortable.

"Are you... do you like him that way?" Furiosa asked finally. "I didn't know you liked men."

"Not men in general," Val shrugged. "The occasional one grows on me. I like the way he looks at you, and the way he makes you look."

Furiosa hummed, and Val found herself continuing, "And he has nice hands. They look all… big and hard and battered, and then he touches you so very carefully with them."

She'd maybe spent more than a few moments over the past few days contemplating what those hands might be doing to Furiosa. It hadn't made her feel jealous, only vaguely dissatisfied that she couldn't be there.

"Mm," Furiosa agreed. "His hands  _ are  _ nice. Many of his other parts come highly recommended too."

Val grinned.

Then, finally, Furiosa said "If you and he... I think I'd like that."

"Yeah?" Val smiled against the back of her head. She pictured all three of them in this bed, Furiosa in the middle. It was a nice picture. She couldn't imagine Max looking at her the way he looked at Furiosa, the way he went soft for her, but she thought that they might be able to work together, to unite in their cause to make Furiosa incoherent with bliss.

They curled up together for the night, and Val determined to at least suggest it to Max, when he came back. If their current arrangement was making Furiosa feel stressed, he would probably at least want to hear.

 

* * *

It was a moon or two before Max made his way back to the Citadel, and he was surprised to find Valkyrie seeking him out on the second day. She found him in the sniper post on the west tower, a quiet place he liked to retreat to when the Citadel felt too crowded and Furiosa was occupied.  

"Hey." she settled down on the bench opposite him, looking out the window. She still looked as fierce as he remembered her, tall and quiet and unknowable. 

She'd never sought him out before. 

"You want me to, hmm, leave sooner?" Max said, glancing at Valkyrie and then away again. Ever since he could stay the night inside the Citadel without panicking, he'd been careful not to intrude too much on the life Furiosa had with Valkyrie, counted days to make sure he didn't visit the Citadel too often or too long. He knew he would still have left if Valkyrie hadn't been there, he couldn't imagine being at the Citadel all the time. 

He didn't usually see much of Valkyrie. She was there in the dinner hall, but usually she was with the other Vuvalini.

However, her presence lingered in Furiosa's room like a shadow; the cactus plant she kept in the windowsill that Furiosa never looked at, a left-handed backup knife tucked away under the mattress, a mending on Furiosa's trousers that she couldn't have managed herself.

"No..." Valkyrie said slowly, bending forward a little, trying to make eye contact. "I'm asking. If it's all right if I'm... around a little more, while you're here."

Huh. Why would she ask  _ him _ ?

"Mm. Furiosa?"

"She doesn't... oh! She doesn't send me away, while you're here," she said, as if that had suddenly occurred to her. "I just always figured you two.. well, I get to spend time with her the rest of the time."

"Mm," Max hummed, thinking it over. He hadn't realised she might be uncertain about this odd situation too. If Val didn't go away completely, maybe he wouldn't feel as guilty if Furiosa encouraged him to stay an extra day, or even two. 

He didn't actually know Valkyrie very well. He'd had the distinct impression she hadn't much liked him after he'd turned down the offer to come with them across the salt, and there hadn't been much time after that. The first time he visited the new Citadel, he'd been surprised to find that she had made her way there, injured but still formidable. It had taken him three more visits to work out that she and Furiosa were together, and two more after that before he'd understood that having her childhood friend as a lover didn't mean Furiosa didn't also want him in her bed.  

"'s why I don't stay longer," he finally said. "Don't wanna.." he gestured vaguely. It made more sense in his head. 

Valkyrie nodded slowly, and then shook her head with a rueful smile. 

"I think she'd like it if we.. if she could be with us both."

"Maybe, hm," Max hesitated. It wasn't jealousy that had stopped them, apparently it had been about consideration. And if Furiosa didn't specifically want it to be this way, then well. He liked Valkyrie well enough, or at least had the idea that he might, if they spent more time together. "Wanna, uh, surprise her?"

Furiosa smiled, these days, but they were still small smiles, secret little flashes from somebody who'd had to guard her emotions with great care. Valkyrie smiled wide, her teeth bare, and it was like standing in a spotlight. 

"Let's do that."

 

* * *

 

Valkyrie hadn't been sure if Max had understood that she wanted to spend the night with the three of them together, and she'd left it open so he could get used to the idea. He could hardly fail to notice just how pleased Furiosa was to have both of them next to her at the dinner table. She was a little more expansive with her gestures, a little flushed as if she'd had a glass of the fruit liquor Janey made. She kept glancing from Max to Valkyrie as if she couldn't believe she had them both in the same place, and her dimples, usually little more than a passing flash, seemed like a permanent feature on her face tonight.  

When Dag settled on the end of the bench with her little one on her lap, Val moved a little to make space for her. Furiosa made a pleased little humming sound at the way she was pressed between Val and Max, shoulders and hips touching. Val felt Furiosa's metal hand on her leg and glanced at Max, and yeah, he was feeling her other hand. He felt her look and gave her the hint of a smile. She hadn't seen him this relaxed before. It did nice things to his face. 

"Are you… both," Furiosa said softly, and Val felt a squeeze on her leg, "coming with me?" 

Val met Max's eyes, caught his tiny nod. 

"Looks like," she grinned. 

 

* * *

 

Max had wondered if Valkyrie joining them was intended to lead to sex, but they didn't go to Furiosa's quarters, went up to the green, to a secluded terrace. Valkyrie lowered herself into the grass, enjoying the last sunrays. He watched Furiosa have a moment of what he thought might be hesitation or even panic - she looked from Val to him and back, as if she could barely believe they were all in one place, and made an abortive motion toward him. Was she worried about not dividing her attention perfectly equally?

"Mm, it's all right," he said, stepping in to pull her close. Brushed a kiss against the shell of her ear, and she shivered, wrapping her arm around him. When he glanced at Valkyrie he saw her watching them, apparently enjoying the view. She flashed them both a grin, and that was a relief, knowing this didn't have to be as fraught as Furiosa seemed to imagine it to be. 

"Come on." He lowered himself to sit against a fence post, and lightly tugged on Furiosa's hand, until she sat down on front of him, leaning back against his chest. The warm weight of her made him feel anchored in a way that would have panicked him two years ago, when they'd first met, but now it just felt good, secure. He couldn't think of a safer place to be; Valkyrie's presence somehow didn't change that. 

Valkyrie shifted until her head was pillowed against Furiosa's thigh.

After a while the women chatted in soft voices about a planting project Dag had brought up, something to do with a fence made of cacti. Max listened contently, enjoying hearing about the citadel and its organisation. Enjoyed that he could offer help and it would be appreciated, but he could also disappear and nothing would falter or fall apart in his absence. He didn't think he'd ever stay here permanently; the Citadel still felt too confining after a while. He liked that they made him feel like part of New Citadel all the same.  

Just as much as he was glad for Valkyrie; glad that when he needed to go and roam the wasteland, Furiosa wasn't alone if she didn't want to be.

Her hand had drifted down to play with Valkyrie's hair, and without really making the decision, Max's hand joined. It felt as soft as it looked, nothing like his own hair when it grew into long tangles; Valkyrie's was thick and glossy, a few greying strands only making it more beautiful. He twisted a strand around his fingers and stroked it. 

She smiled, her eyes closed, and Furiosa bent down to kiss her, light and soft. Max watched avidly, his hand still stroking Val's hair. He hadn't imagined either of them to be the type for light and gentle. Furiosa liked feeling his nails on her skin, when they were together, liked wrestling for who got to be on top, and it wasn't unusual for there to be bruises. Valkyrie, if anything, seemed similar. 

An image flashed into his brain, of the two of them on Furiosa's bed, kissing intently, hands everywhere, and he felt himself flush. 

The kiss ended, and Furiosa leaned back up and drew him close with a hand on his neck, pressed her lips to his. He could feel her heart pounding, her breath fast, the excitement singing through her body. It was enough to get a contact high, and his body responded eagerly.

"Damn… that's a  _ nice  _ view." he heard Valkyrie said, rolling over to watching them more comfortably, and Max jerked back, having forgotten about her for a moment, but Furiosa kept him near, smiled at him. She slung a leg over Valkyrie's side to keep her pinned, casual and easy. Valkyrie clearly could have freed herself, but only chuckled and subsided, making a pleased little sound when Furiosa kissed him again. 

Furiosa moaned into his mouth and the kiss suddenly got a lot more intense, and he suspected Valkyrie's roaming hands might have something to do with that. He went with it, letting his hand slide up and down her spine, kissing her deep and heady until she sighed and surrendered into his hands. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed the idea of working with Valkyrie to drive her out of her mind. 

"You don't play fair," Furiosa murmured when the kiss came to an end. 

"Was that a requirement?" Valkyrie smirked, a hand on Furiosa's ass. She met Max's eyes. "Can we vote on that?"

He wanted to laugh, because it struck him suddenly - this was going to be  _ fun _ . He'd been thinking it was going to be hot, and that was still likely, but he hadn't realised it might be playful, too. 

"Mm, I hear that's how they, uh, do things in the Citadel now," he nodded seriously. 

Furiosa decided to take them to her room. Possibly before things got out of hand. 

* * *

 

Val hung back a little, enjoying the way Max walked next to Furiosa, fallen in step with her with an ease that made Furiosa's hips swing just a little. Or perhaps that was anticipation. He kept glancing aside at her, quick little looks as if he couldn't quite believe she was really there.  He glanced back a few times too, during their walk down to her quarters.  Found Val on their heels and quirked his lips. She decided then and there that she wanted to get used to the sight of that. 

Furiosa's bed was large enough for the three of them, though it wasn't exactly spacious. Max was on her right side, Val on her left, and they spent a long time kissing and caressing her, making her gasp and squirm. 

It was just cuddling and kissing and soft, sweet touches, Val idly watching as Max's big hands glided over Furiosa, gentler than they had any right to be. Furiosa slowly went from sighs and purrs to sleepy little humming sounds, and even Max looked sleepy. 

"Stay," he murmured when he felt her slide out of the bed. "'s nice."

"I'm doing night patrols," she breathed. She knew neither Max nor Furiosa were sound sleepers - waking them from a deep sleep would be unfortunate. Plus maybe this sort of all-three-together time was better to built up, to avoid irritating each other. 

"Mm. Come back? ..tomorrow?"

"I will," she promised, and he sighed and seemed to drift off before she'd even left the room.  

 

* * *

 

Max honestly wasn't sure when it became less about 'It makes Furiosa happy when we are both there' and more about 'I like you around'. Probably by the end of that same first visit. He'd stayed longer than ever before, but at some point the restlessness became too much, the walls of the Citadel too confining. When he'd been ready to leave, he'd found Val poking at his bike. She'd suggested a minor adaptation that would vastly improve the bike's fuel efficiency. He'd asked her to show him, which she did with apparent enjoyment. 

When Furiosa came to find them, wondering where her dinner companions were, she found them elbow deep in grease. She smiled so sweetly, unguardedly pleased that Max didn't quite know what to do with himself. 

"Thank you," he said quietly to Val the next day, when he made ready to leave. He nodded at his bike. 

"Well, I want you to keep coming back," she shrugged. "I have Plans."

He couldn't stop thinking about that pleased little smile playing around her lips.  _ Plans _ . The way she'd said it supplied him with ideas for the entire time he was out in the wastes. 

 

* * *

 

Apparently he hadn't been the only one who'd been contemplating the things three people could get up to in bed. When he next returned to the Citadel, a little earlier than he'd done before, he was greeted by both Furiosa and Valkyrie, a sort of low-key excitement buzzing between them that enveloped him as soon as he touched foreheads with each of them. 

It was early afternoon, and he felt the low thrill of excitement all throughout the day, eyes meeting with significant glances, small smiles exchanged over dinner. As soon as the door to Furiosa's quarters was bolted behind the three of them, Furiosa backed him against Val and kissed him

"Clothes. Off," Furiosa demanded eventually, her mouth lush and swollen from kissing. She started stripping down herself, and Val shrugged and began to shed her clothes. Max was next to her, trousers already unbuttoned from what could only loosely be called 'kissing'. He hesitated over his shirt. He glanced at Val warily, still not too comfortable with showing his back. 

"Oh, wow. You seemed taller from further away," Val said, grinning at Furiosa over his head.

"Hey!" he grumbled, because yeah, he had realised she had a good hand of height on him. Distracted from thoughts of his tattoo, he tugged off his shirt. 

She looked at him for a long, meaningful moment and then flashed a grin, and he realised she'd been distracting him from his worries. He stepped in and put a hand in her side, raising a challenging eyebrow at her. He spun them, steering her down onto the bed, and was surprised to feel her relax under his hand, moving with him easily. She landed with a huff of laughter, and he stretched out on his side next to her while she finished kicking off her boots and trousers. 

"Never, mm, never noticed it like this," he said, and she flashed him a grin.

In guiding her down next to him his hand idly trailed her side, and she made a shocked, half-swallowed squeak and a little jolt. He did it again, and she squirmed. 

"Hmm," he rumbled, blocking the hand that came up to stop his, and dragging the back of his nails up the skin of her ribs. She wriggled in a way that made him chuckle, and then suddenly they were wrestling on the bed, she trying to pin his arms while he kept raking his nails along what turned out to be her very ticklish sides. She was giggling, and he heard himself laugh too, and then she shoved toward him, driving them both off the bed with a thump. 

He oofed as he hit the floor with Valkyrie on top of him, and they were both trying to catch their breath, still chuckling. She had hold of his wrists  and used her position to pin them against the floor, and he mused idly that she looked like some sort of ancient goddess above him like this, hair wild, face flushed, when she leaned down and kissed him. 

He spared a startled thought for how Furiosa might feel about this, but he could see her peeking at them over the edge of the bed, and she was smiling, and then Valkyrie very thoroughly kissed the breath out of him. 

"Not exactly, hmm, a deterrent," he chuckled, when the kiss finally ended. 

"Who said that it…" the sounded a little out of breath, and that together with the way her body pressed down against his was doing things to him. She'd released his hands, and he draped one arm around her waist. "...that it was meant to be?"

Furiosa reached down from the bed and ran her nails down Val's spine, and she made a slow, sinuous motion against Max. He tried not to groan. Furiosa made a pleased little sound and did it again, and Max felt his erection twitch against Val, felt the chain reaction of all three of them moaning. 

"Ohhh, this is fun. Get on the bed," Furiosa ordered, and Val flashed a grin at Max, ground down against him a long moment and then rose. It took him a few long breaths to scrape himself together, a little overwhelmed by the two of them, by the fact that Val seemed more than happy to touch him and the way Furiosa seemed delighted by it. 

He laid down on the bed and Furiosa nudged Valkyrie back into the same position, sitting astride his hips, the slick wetness of her pressing his erection against his stomach. Wiggled a little, smirking down at him. 

His hands slipped automatically to her knees, and he stilled, unsure if he was meant to touch her. But she made an approving hum, and he tilted his hips, erection sliding against her. 

Furiosa kneeled next to them and put her nub on his stomach, holding him still. Her hand slid into Val's hair, who made a quiet little sound and went  _ soft _ , her muscles relaxing, her body a little heavier on his hips as she melted into Furiosa's touch. Furiosa tugged her head back, and Val's back arched, graceful and strong, to where Furiosa could kiss her. Max could not stop himself from lightly trailing a hand up her taut stomach, over her breasts and along the long column of her throat. He kept his hand opened, only using light pressure with the flat of his palm, but she moaned into Furiosa's mouth. Max couldn't look away from them, letting his hand trail back down and then, half guessing, half knowing what Furiosa wanted, let his thumb lightly trace through the soft hair at the base of Val's stomach. He made a little moan low in his throat at the wetness he encountered. 

Furiosa patted his forearm approvingly with her stump, and he traced his thumb around Val's slick little clit, enjoying the way it made her squirm and make needy little noises into Furiosa's mouth. He'd almost forgotten about his cock for a moment, but the way she began grinding against his thumb made him suck in a sharp breath. He slid his free hand to her breast. 

Furiosa almost  _ growled  _ into Val's mouth, her hand still wrapped in Val's hair, keeping her arched and suspended, Furiosa's left arm supporting her shoulderblades. Val's hands were hanging down, forgotten, her fingers twitching. Max felt more wetness, and gave a little more pressure, feeling her whole body tense up like a spring, and then Val's hips bucked hard, and Furiosa broke the kiss to watch her face intently as she came. 

Val's whole body went lax as she came down from her high, and Max and Furiosa guided her to lie down in between them, still panting lightly and with her eyes a little glassy. 

"Always wanted to see that," Furiosa murmured, sweetly stroking Val's hair, and Max realised she'd probably never seen it because she normally made Val come with her mouth. His erection twitched at the mental image. 

Val made an incoherent noise, seemed to be trying to say something, and then just huffed a breath, subsiding. A moment later she tugged on Furiosa's arm, asking her to climb over until she was in between Val and Max. 

They shuffled around on the bed for a bit until there was space for all three with no risk of falling off. Furiosa landed in the middle with a soft 'oof', her dimples showing, and Max couldn't help but reach for her, couldn't help kissing her. 

Her hand slid down his stomach, and she made an appreciative sound at finding him hard and leaking. She slung her leg across his to climb astride of him, but Val made a noise. 

"Wait. Other way." she gestured that Furiosa should put her back to Max, and Max made a disappointed hum. "No, this'll work, I promise," Val grinned, moving down the bed, and he was by now unsurprised to find that he didn't doubt her a moment.  She gestured for him to sit up a little, and he pushed some pillows behind his upper back. 

Furiosa stroked his cock, and then lined him up and slowly sank down onto him. He had his hands on her hips, supporting her, and her skin flushed as he slid home. 

"Ohhh…" it was Val who moaned the loudest, watching them. 

Max guided Furiosa to lie back against his chest, and when she turned her head they could kiss, both a little breathless and the tight heat of where he was inside her.  

Max could feel Val shifting between their legs, nudging them both a little wider, and then Furiosa moaned into his mouth, hips jolting. She tore away from his mouth to gasp "Oh holy fucking chrome V8" before she went completely quiet. Val met his eyes across the length of Furiosa's torso, and her mouth was busy - and oh wasteland gods that was the hottest thing - but he could see the laugh lines, the devilish gleam in her eyes. 

Max wrapped his arms around Furiosa, holding her close the way he knew she liked, and tilted his hips. He couldn't move much like this, but the shallow thrusts felt amazing. He vaguely, distantly decided he didn't want this to end ever, Furiosa warm and solid in his arms, lit up inside with pleasure. Suspending her between his body and Val's, making her shake with it. The sounds from Val were obscene, wet and slick with hums and moans of pleasure in the doing. 

After a while Furiosa's hips began to jolt in a way he recognised, the way she'd build up steam and then sometimes jerk away when things got too intense, like her body overloaded and didn't know how to cope. 

"We've got you," he murmured against her temple. "Mm, all safe.."

Val wrapped her arms around Furiosa's thighs, holding her firmly, and by the moaning it seemed to meet with approval. Max raked his nails lightly down her body, making her gasp. He stroked the back of his fingers down Val's cheek, and she lifted her head to smile at him, then shifted herself a little lower while Max rubbed little circles around Furiosa's clit. 

He heard himself make an entirely undignified sound when a hot, wet mouth was suddenly on the base of his cock, and his hips twitched up, pushing him deeper into Furiosa. She gasped, and then he felt Val's mouth over his fingers and made space for her, his brain shorting out with all the wet, clenching heat around his cock. 

He spared a vague thought to trying to hold off, but then Val's hand was on his balls and he shuddered helplessly, hips rocking upward, and spilled himself inside of Furiosa, his open mouth pressed against her shoulder. He was still twitching with aftershocks when she gasped and he tightened his arms, holding her still so Val could get her where they all wanted her to go. 

She clenched around him, and he groaned, his lips pressed just under her ear, and it seemed to stretch out a long time, until Furiosa was taking huge, sobbing breaths, and Val finally eased off. Furiosa made grabby hands at her, and Val slid up on the bed until she was alongside the both of them. She pressed a kiss to Furiosa's lips, then to Max's. She tasted of Furiosa, and Max groaned and kissed her back, a little intoxicated with what they'd just done.

Max rolled onto his side, easing Furiosa to in between their bodies, and they both moaned softly when his softening cock slipped from her. There was a vague smile on her face, and her eyes were unfocused. 

"Feeling good, Fury?" Val smiled. 

"Mmmh," she murmured, a languid hand landing uncoordinatedly on Val's shoulder. She laughed a secret little laugh, and Max felt laughter bubble up too, at how utterly loose-limbed and relaxed and blissed out she was, at how good he felt, at how Val was smiling. He pressed his mouth to Furiosa's shoulder. Pulled a sheet up over the three of them and slung his arm over both women, bracketing himself against Furiosa's back.  Val's hand came up to cover his, keeping it in place.

 

* * *

 

"I miss him?" she confessed to Furiosa, a few weeks later. Watched her face carefully in the gloom of their quarters, not quite certain how Furiosa felt about her lovers growing closer. Furiosa's smile was warm, cheeks dimpling. "It feels good, when he's here too. Feels right."

Furiosa pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'm glad. We can miss him together."

"And pounce him together when he gets back."

Furiosa made an approving little hum. 

"I really like seeing you together. I thought it would just be about not… not feeling like I'm split between you."

"But?" Val asked softly. 

"It's also just really exciting," Furiosa chuckled. "Even when I'm just watching. Seeing your face. These  _ sounds  _ he makes. "

"Mm," Val agreed. "He does make good sounds. That time he came in you--" she shivered at the memory. 

The two of them kissed for a while, enjoying the memories but not really building up to anything, just sweet, languid kissing. 

"I've been tempted."

"Mothers, I want to see you ride him," Furiosa sighed. "Are you thinking about risking it?" 

"Mm. It wouldn't be a bad thing if it kindled, would it?" Val smiled. "I'd like a child."

"Mm. I know that was… the Vuvalini would seek out traders, right?" 

Val nodded. 

"Max will see it differently. It would be a big thing to him, to father a child. You should ask him about it, sometime not in bed," Furiosa mused. "When he and I-- he pulled out until I told him I couldn't." 

"He had a child, didn't he? I saw him with the Daglet."

"Yeah. Don't know the fine of it, but…"

Val made a sad sound.

 

* * *

Max couldn't stay away for long. Four, maybe five weeks before the Citadel came into view again, and he couldn't pretend even to himself that it didn't have to do with how welcome he felt in Furiosa's quarters. 

He'd been made very welcome between the two women, as if they'd missed him in their bed, as if they'd been waiting for him.  He still wasn't quite sure it had all been real, wasn't a figment of his imagination gone wild

When Valkyrie sought him out the day after, Max immediately braced himself. Too much good in his life, lately. Figured the other shoe was about to drop. 

"Hey. Fury says I should not say this while we're in bed," she greeted him as she approached him on the green.

Val dropped down next to him on the bench where he was mending a worn seam in his trousers. She gave him an intent look, and he wasn't sure if to meet her eyes or not. 

"Last night was  _ good _ ," she said with a tone of voice that abruptly tilted his expectations of whatever she wanted to talk about. 

"Mm," he agreed. 

"I wanted to--" she hesitated, not at all like her, and was that the hint of a  _ blush  _ in her neck? "I wanted you to fuck me. Been wanting that."

"Uh…" his brain shorted out with the images, because there was a look she got on her face when he used two fingers in her, when he leaned over her to kiss her, and god yes, he wanted that, suddenly,  undeniably. 

"Your seed might take," she said bluntly, and he startled a little. "I would like that. Furiosa would too. But I figured I should tell you at some time you had the space to think about it."

He didn't know what to say, but she didn't seem to expect it, just patted his arm and left him to his mending. 

Max stared at the women and children over at the other side of the green. They looked happy. Safe. If any place was capable of giving a child a chance, it had to be here. He wondered if anybody else here had had these doubts, over the past two years. If they had hesitated before creating a child, or jumped on the chance to do so in a place that was about as safe as the world got. 

The thought of a child made his breath come short, half longing and half the panic-inducing prospect of needing to keep a child safe, needing to protect it from-- he shook himself, trying to re-orient. There was no need to decide right now.  

 

* * *

 

Max avoided the issue for the rest of his visit, paying plenty of attention to Val with his mouth and fingers. She enjoyed it and made sure he knew that, but part of her felt a little sad. 

"Were you really expecting him to just agree to it?" Furiosa said, a few days after Max had driven off into the wastes. She idly stroked Val's hair. 

"No. Yes?" Val sighed, tilting her head into the touch. "Men have always seemed plenty eager to plant their seed."

"He's not like the traders the Vuvalini would seek out to to mix blood with," Furiosa murmured. "It matters to him that there might be a child, and what kind of life it would have." 

"Do you think this was his answer, or could he be thinking about it?" She'd gotten attached to the idea of a child, a Vuvalini baby for this new Green Place, but if he was not willing she couldn't imagine seeking out another man. Somehow this idea had become tangled up in the three of them. 

"I don't know. Maybe it's best not to ask, and if he--  he'll let us know."

"Mm."

* * *

 

Max stayed away a long time.

Long enough that Val began to worry her question had driven him off permanently. Furiosa hadn't said anything about it, but Val could tell she was beginning to drift toward the lookout posts more often too. 

They'd gotten into the habit of going up to the Green together after dinner, Val with her spindle and Furiosa with the drafts of a new council proposal. The two of them were sitting side by side in the late sunlight, sometimes quietly, sometimes discussing the new agreement the council was considering making with the representatives of the Wretched. Lives on the ground had improved a great deal, were still improving. Expanding the crop fields to ground level only made sense, especially if the people there would guard and tend them. 

By the time the the sun had set, Val was on her back in the grass, head propped up on Furiosa's thigh. At some point Furiosa's hand stopped idly playing with her hair, and Val looked up to see Max coming in their direction. Her breath hitched with the relief of seeing him again, but he looked… ragged. In sore need of a bath and some food and sleep. 

He paused a little distance away to look at them for a long moment. She wondered if he doubted his welcome, after over three months. 

"Hey," Furiosa greeted him, like she wasn't quite sure it was really Max. It seemed to shake him into motion though, and he came up to them, kissed Furiosa, just a press of lips, then bent down to kiss Val the same. He settled in next to them, stretched out his legs with a sound of comfort. 

After a minute Furiosa let herself sink sideways, against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, the other tentatively reaching for Val, until she shifted and made the contact. 

"We were worried," Furiosa said softly. 

"Mm. Sorry."

He didn't seem inclined to say anything more, and Val found she didn't mind. What was there to explain? He just sat quietly with them as they continued their conversation, but one hand was stroking Furiosa's shoulder, the other idly tracing Val's scalp in a way that made her eyes slide shut with tiny sighs of enjoyment. 

"So," he finally said, "about the thing?" 

Val, drowsy and utterly comfortable, was slow to understand. She made an inquiring hum.  Max's hand slid over her cheek, down the center of her chest and came to rest, big and warm and gentle, on her flat stomach. 

Oh. 

_ Oh _ . 

"I'm thinking... yes." 

"Yes?" Val could hear Furiosa process, could hear the news sink in, and then her eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Mm."

Val pushed herself up to sling an arm around each of them, pulling them close to make a tight little circle, and pressed her joy against their smiling lips. 

**Author's Note:**

> Eternal thanks to Bonehandledknife, Fadagaski and Spatz for helping me chisel this story into shape!


End file.
